OC Fair-goers dive into opening day
Just minutes before the opening of the 125th OC Fair Friday, food vendors, ride operators and animal trainers were prepping their stations for the thousands of guests at the gate entrance.
At one of the newest attractions, the Fairenheit 32 degree ice skating rink, men wearing polos and shorts took to their shovels for some last-minute smoothing of the ice.
More than a dozen workers at the Bacon-A-Fair food stand huddled in a circle for a pep talk. Their bacon-wrapped hot dogs and onions were already hot on the grill.
With their hair in sleek ponytails and lips painted red, the young girls from All That Dance, a studio in Corona del Mar, made their way to the fair’s new performance area, the Plaza Stage.
At noon, the gates opened.
Benny Garcia and Lexi Robles from West Covina were the first to get in line at the fair. They had awakened to make the drive at 4:30 a.m. and made it to the fairgrounds by 7 a.m.
“It’s our first time at this fair,” Garcia said. “We already knew we didn’t want to wait in a long line to get inside.”
The couple entertained themselves outside the Green Gate with games of I Spy and Heads Up on their cell phones.
A juggler from the Russell Bros. Family Fun Circus greeted all who entered, tossing his red clubs in the air as guests asked him for directions to the food and the rides.
The circus was the first fair attraction that Danita Miller from Bellflower took her three grandchildren to see.
“I’ve taken them here every summer for the past three years,” Miller said. “My sons, nieces and sister-in-law are here with us too. We’ve all traveled from Moreno Valley, Riverside and Gardena to be here together and just enjoy the day.”
Miller’s granddaughter Milan Weatherspoon clapped thunderously after each act from the juggler and the magician. As the magician took two white birds and made them disappear under a black cloth, the 4-year-old did not take her eyes off the stage.
While Miller said she’ll go to whatever rides her grandchildren want, she has only one stop in mind for herself.
“I’m gonna get me a turkey leg, that’s for sure,” Miller said.
For father-daughter pair, Bud Nguyen and Jenna Nguyen, 15, from Garden Grove, their first meal of the day consisted of concoctions from the Bacon-A-Fair stand: two bacon-wrapped jalapenos, one bacon-wrapped Portobello mushroom kabob and fries.
As second-time fairgoers, the two said the event is a good place to “just wing-it” and have fun together.
“I come for her,” Bud Nguyen said about his teenage daughter. “If I didn’t have her, I wouldn’t want to be here.”
Dharma Gregeerson, 16, from Huntington Beach said she went to the fair more than five times last year. After an hour of exploring the grounds, she and her friend Michael Baker, a first-time fairgoer from Huntington Beach, also 16, wandered to the new Plaza Stage and watched performances from All That Dance.
The stage is complete with a white overhead cover to shade its audience from the possibility of scorching sunburns.
“I like the new setup,” Dharma said. “It’s like a stadium and everyone has a view no matter where they sit. Last year’s stage area had poles in the way.”
While she said she has her usual fair traditions, such as watching the hypnotist’s performance and buying her funnel cake, Dharma could not wait for the newer attractions planned for the fair’s 125th anniversary.
In celebration of the birthday, sculptors from Sandscapes began work on their masterpiece at the Fair Square Friday. So far, their work is a giant body of sand shaped into what looks like a six-tier cake to some attendees.
On opening day of the fair, the sculptors were already hard at work on the highest tier, which depicts the number 125 as a topper to the suspected cake. The sand sculpture is expected to be completed by early August.
The fair, which is themed “One Big Party” this year, is open noon to midnight Wednesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to midnight Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 16 at 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa.
General admission is $12; Seniors, ages 60 and older, and children 6-12 are $7; children ages 5 and under are free.